Africa

1. Africa

2. Botswana • History • Used to be known as the British protectorate of Bechuanaland • Gained independence on September 30, 1966 from South Africa • Boer settlers went there • Geography • Located in Southern Africa • Flat • 70% covered by the Kalahari Desert • Okavango Delta is in the northwest • Chobe River provides the boundary line between Botswana and Namibia

3. Botswana cont. • Culture • Setswana is the dominant language and also describes the cultural traditions • Tswana music; mostly vocal with no drums but use of string instruments • Women noted for their basket crafting skills and local dyes • Places to visit • Chobe National Park • Makgadikgadi salt pans • Tsodilo Hills • The Okavango River and Delta

4. Egypt • History • Hunting and gathering and fishing cultures replaced grain-grinding cultures in 10th millennium BC • Unified kingdom founded in c. 3150 BC dynasties that would rule for the next three millennia • Briefly ruled by: • Romans • Ottomans • French • Geography • Arid climate • Due to climate, most people live in the narrow Nile Valley and Delta99% of population only uses 5.5% of total land • Land bridge from Africa to Asia that contains the Suez Canal • Other than the Nile Valley, most of Egypt is desert, containing parts of the Sahara Desert and the Libyan Desert

5. Egypt cont. • Culture • Six thousand years of recorded history • Pharaonic era • Hellenism • Christianity • Islam • Nile Valley is one of the oldest countries in the world • Places to visit • Sphinx • Abu Simbel • Pyramids of Giza • Cairo • Temples of Karnak • The Nile River • Valley of the Kings • Egyptian Museum • Siwa Oasis • Necropolis of Sakkarah

6. Morocco • History • Umayyad Arabs conquered in 7th century • Became a major center of learning and major power around 780 A.D. • Dominated Muslim Spain under Almoravid and Almohad dynasties • Geography • Coasts to Atlantic Ocean • Western Sahara • Mountainous • Atlas Mountains center and south • Rif Mountains north • Mediterranean climate

7. Morocco cont. • Culture • Ethnically diverse • Paganism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam • Poetry, essays, historiography • Research of social and natural sciences usually published in French • Literature and literary studied published in Arabic and French • Places to visit • Marrakech • Fes (Fez) • Essaouira • Chefchaouen • Merzouga • Jebel Toubkal - Trekking the High Atlas Mountains • Meknes • Dades Valley • Tangier • Asilah

8. Mozambique • History • Portuguese trading posts • Portuguese gained control in 1498 with the travels to Indian Ocean around Cape of Good Hope • Gold trade • Geography • Southeast coast of Africa • Indian Ocean to the east • Divided into two topographical regions by the Zambezi River • North-hills and low plateaus • South-broad lowlands and Mashonaland plateau

9. Mozambique cont. • Culture • Aprox. 10,000 Europeans, 35,000 Euro-Africans, and 15,000 South Asians • Christian 40%, Muslim 20%, indigenous African and other beliefs 40% • Portuguese is official language • Art used for religious expression and traditional ceremonies • Places to visit • Vilanculos • Maputo • The Central Railway Station • JardimTunduru Botanical Gardens • Fort of NossaSenhoradaConceiao (Our Lady of Conception) • Fere de Populare • Maputo Elephant Reserve

10. Namibia • History • Name derived from Namib Desert (considered the oldest desert in the world) • Became a Germany colony in 1884 • In 1915, South Africa occupied them • Officially became independent on March 21, 1990 • Geography • Least densely populated country in the world • Based on five geographical areas • Central Plateau • Namib Desert • Great Escarpment • Bushveld • Kalahari Desert • Tropic of Capricorn cuts country almost in half

11. Namibia cont. • Culture • Most popular sport is football(soccer) • Compulsory free education for 10 years between ages 6 and 16 • Addresses conservation and protection of natural resources in its constitution • Places to visit • Windhoek • Sossusvlei • Damaraland • Swakopmund • Etosha • Skeleton Coast • Namib-Nakluft National Park • Waterberg Plateau Park

12. South Africa • History • Contains some of the oldest archaeological sites in the world • Bantu-speaking settlements • Iron using agriculturists • Has been inhabited for the past 100,000 years • Geography • Coastline stretches more than 2,500 kilometers • Interior is mostly flat and sparsely populated scrubland • Eastern coastline is lush and well-watered, tropical climate • Small sub-Antarctic archipelago of the Prince Edward Islands

13. South Africa cont. • Culture • Food, music, and dance are prominent • Lead mostly impoverished lives • Has become increasingly westernised • Khoisan languages, for those who do not speak any of the 11 official languages • Also some endangered languages • Places to visit • Table Mountain • The Garden Route • Robben Island • Kruger National Park • The Drakensberg Mountain • The Beaches • Namaqualand

14. Tunisia • History • Inhabited by Berber tribes • Phoenicians inhabited the coasts • Part of Fertile Crescent where early farming techniques formed • Three different periods • Carthaginian • Roman • Islamic • Geography • Mediterranean coast • Midway between Atlantic Ocean and Nile Delta • Environmentally diverse • Climate • North Temperate, mountainous • South Desert, semiarid

15. Tunisia cont. • Culture • Phoenicians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, Arabs, Turks, Spaniards, and the French all had an influence on the culture • Protesting is severely suppressed • Journalists and human rights activists are harrassed • Places to visit • Carthage • Tunis • Bizerte • Chott El Jerid • Djerba Island • Dougga • Douz • El Djem • El Kef

16. Zambia • History • Inhabited by Khoisan hunter-gatherers until around AD 300 • Batu speaking peoples arrived in 12th century • First to settle in Zambia may have been the Tonga people • First European documented visit in the 18th century • Geography • Tropical climate • High plateaus • Hills and valleys dissected by river valleys • Drained by two major river basins • Three quarters of the country in south covered by Zambezi basin • Congo basin in north covers about one fourth

17. Zambia cont. • Culture • Mainly indigenous Bantu culture mixed with European influences • Used to live in independent tribes • Original cultures have survived in rural areas • Traditional cultures apparent through Zambian traditional ceremonies • Traditional arts are pottery, basketry, stools, fabrics, mats, wooden carvings, ivory carvings, wire craft and copper crafts • Places to visit • Victoria Falls • Zambezi River • Lake Kariba • Lake Tanganyika • Chimp Sanctuary • ShiwaNgandu • Lake Bangweulu • Livingstone Memorial • Lake Mweru

18. Zimbabwe • History • Trade with Muslim Merchants on Indian Ocean coast • Proto-Shona speaking societies • Traded gold, ivory and copper for cloth and glass • First Matabele War • Civil wars • Geography • Most of the country is elevated on the central plateau • East side is mountainous • Large part of Zimbabwe covered by forest

19. Zimbabwe cont. • Culture • Many different cultures, but Shona predominates • Traditional arts of pottery, basketry, textiles, jewelry and carving • Football, rugby, and cricket are the most popular sports • Places to visit • Eastern Highlands • Lowveld • Chizarira National Park • Masvingo • Hwange National Park • Lake Kariba & Matusadona National Park • Mana Pools • Matobo National Park • Victoria Falls • Harare • Bulawayo